The Daily Brief
Today
Good morning. Trump ordered the Pentagon to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea. Bloomberg reports he told the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the drills, driven by frustration that the longtime ally hadn’t provided more support for his war with Iran. The BBC confirms the decision came after South Korea declined to aid his war effort in Iran. Raw Story notes Trump announced the cut on Truth Social, directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to reduce the scale, and describes the move as adhering to a foreign dictator’s demands.
Trump’s son-in-law and envoy Jared Kushner held a rare meeting with Hamas’s political chief in Egypt on Sunday, part of a diplomatic push to make progress in the stalled Gaza ceasefire talks. The New York Times adds he will soon meet Netanyahu.
A Spanish fighter jet shot down a suspected Russian drone over Romania on Sunday, two days after NATO downed a similar drone over Latvia.
[Sen. John Fetterman warned on X against socialism’s rise in the Democratic Party after democratic socialists and insurgent progressives won Democratic primaries](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6032418-fetterman-warns-socialism-rise). [The Pennsylvania Democrat, who has bucked his party in recent years, posted his warning in response to a report on the primary results](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6032418-fetterman-warns-socialism-rise).